Online diploma mills have been around for years, but they are often treated as a fringe phenomenon. That may be about to change, thanks to a series of reports just published by The Spokesman-Review. The Review has discovered that the U.S. Department of Justice has a list of almost 10,000 people with falsified high school diplomas and college degrees from a diploma mill headquartered in Spokane, Washington. The paper has made a preliminary pass over the database, and determined that the giant list includes employees of the National Security Agency (NSA), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and even the White House. Various branches of the military, police organizations, and other professions are also represented.
Eight people were involved in running the business, where prices ranged from a few hundred dollars for a high school diploma to several thousand dollars for advanced degrees. The list included 9,612 buyers, with some individuals buying multiple degrees (no word if there was a volume discount). Of those buyers, 826 bought at least one doctorate, and 470 bought MBAs. Many buyers didn't even bother to conceal their purchases, with one individual using his work account at the Jet Propulsion Lab to purchase his degree.
Aside from the obvious ethical lapses on the part of the people who paid for these "degrees," this scandal also implicates the security and management practices at various government bureaus. One CIA contractor purchased a degree in information systems management. The idea that individuals could not only gain employment in such a sensitive field without having the education that backs up their responsibilities is frightening enough, but how could someone pass a CIA background check with no one discovering the lie?
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